The Real Thanksgiving Turkeys!

The REAL Thanksgiving Turkeys!

It is so easy to forget the blessings that God has given us. The Psalmist wrote, "Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…” (Psalm 103:2). On Thanksgiving Day in the United States, we’ll enjoy a meal with turkeys – but the REAL Thanksgiving turkeys are ungrateful people! Why do we so often forget God in our lives? What Turns God’s Children into TURKEYS?

1. Our focus is on getting THINGS, and they have our attention.

We are so RICH! Each of us, compared to the rest of the world and compared to any other person at any other time of existence are rich beyond our wildest dreams. We drive nice cars, live in air-conditioned homes, and have TVs, DVDs, DVRs, and computers. Then there are the iPhones, iPads, and iMacs and the iDistractions! We eat out in nice restaurants and we worship in comfortable church buildings. On Thanksgiving Day we will eat a meal that people in most parts of the world could only dream of having. We each live a life of incredible ease and luxury even though we do not think so. And you would think that all these blessings would make us the most grateful people on earth. But often all this affluence does is really just make us more and more discontented and ungrateful.

2. PRIDE.

We are prideful and somehow think we have earned all the things we have received. We say to ourselves, "I’ve worked hard to get that job." "I studied for those grades." "I earned that award." A bumper sticker reads, "I couldn’t have done it without me." Some do not even think to thank God.

3. PEOPLE we surround ourselves with can be ungrateful.

Some of us live amongst such ungrateful, negative people that we soon turn grumpy and sour ourselves. "Bad company corrupts good character." (1 Corinthians 15:33). Time spent with negative ungrateful people will influence us whether we want it to or not.

4. CIRCUMSTANCES. It is hard to rejoice and be thankful when life has gotten the best of you.

Any combination of these or many other attitudes can cause us to be turkeys!

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse."~ Henry Van Dyke

How Do We Develop Gratitude?

1. REMEMBER WHERE BLESSINGS COME FROM!

Psalm 107:15 “Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,”

James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

2. DECIDE TO AVOID COMPLAINING AT ALL COSTS

Complaining and grumbling are the biggest barriers to gratitude. Numbers 11:1 tells us that the Israelites “complained about their hardships and when God heard it his anger was aroused.” Complaining ruins our spiritual lives. Psalm 77:3 says, “I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.” Bob Russell writes, “I really believe the most important step in developing inner peace is to quit complaining and start praising.”

Philippians 2:14 "Do everything without complaining and arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe."

3. MAKE THE PERSONAL CHOICE TO BE THANKFUL.

Make the choice to rejoice. Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

4. GET IN THE HABIT OF GIVING THANKS

In Daniel 6 we read that Daniel got down on his knees three times everyday and prayed and gave thanks to his God. And how many of us do that? I want to challenge you to begin a regular routine of finding something each and everyday to give thanks for. No matter how small or insignificant your blessing is, you learn to search out the positive amidst the negative and give thanks for what you do have. The hymn says, "Count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done."

Conclusion: Don’t be a Thanksgiving Turkey! Be Grateful for your blessings!